New CD Release - Mind's Eye by Kama Ruby and the Rough Cuts

Hey, I'm not one to usually brag about stuff (cough,cough), but, I have a hot wife who is a talented actress, dancer, and singer.

She has a new CD out - just released this month -"Mind's Eye" by Kama Ruby and the Rough Cuts.

It's an interesting and eclectic mix of genres and features some heavyweight musicians, including:

Mike Garson (he was David Bowie's long time pianist for all of you cretins out there),

Tom Walsh (drummer and one of the original members of America and Spyro Gyra),

and the legendary Jane Getz (Google her) - she also co-produced the album.

I might be slightly biased, but, this CD is great!

You can download any track or the entire album at CD Baby (other sites will be offering it as well soon, such as Amazon, iTunes, etc. Here's a link: Mind'sEye @CDBaby

Or, if you are like me and just have to have that hard copy in your hand, with all of the cool pictures and liner notes, you can order an autographed copy right here: Mind's Eye Autographed CD

So, wth are you waiting for? Get out that credit card, you won't regret it!

USTA, ATP, & WTA announce Ace Maccioli as new Player Personality Director

The United States Tennis Association (USTA), the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) today jointly announced the appointment of Frank "Ace" Maccioli  to the new position of Player Personality Director.

Frank "Ace" Maccioli

Photo © F.J. Maccioli

The new position is a result of extensive surveys into the cause of declining fan interest in professional tennis. The polls, to a one, determined that the single most influential turn-off to tennis fans is the lack of colorful tennis personalities who exhibit bad behaviour, profane ("colorful") speech, obnoxiousness, and what many refer to as a "Jimmy Connors/John McEnroe/Ilie Nastase" approach to tennis decorum on the court.

In an effort to ensure objectivity, the polls were conducted by several notable polling organizations, all of whom came to the same conclusion and recommendations. The companies contracted were:

Gallup, Marist Institute for Public Opinion, Monmouth University Polling Institute, Harris Interactive, and SurveyMonkey.

Said USTA CEO Katrina Adams, "Our sport depends upon maintaining and growing an enthusiastic fan base. Recent years have seen our tournaments dominated by bland, blasé, "cookie-cutter" tennis stars who all exhibit the personality of a rock. We decided we needed to change that and after researching our USTA membership rolls, we discovered the perfect person to effect those changes in Frank."

Added Chris Kermode, Executive Chairman and Director ot the ATP, "We thought when we named the notorious Justin Gimelstob as an ATP Player Representative a couple of years ago that he would provide a similar impact. However, the polling clearly showed we needed someone who could offend everyone and Mr. Maccioli's name just kept bubbling to the top of the list."

Speaking on behalf of the WTA, tennis legend Billie Jean King said, "I've played a lot of assholes in my day, and when I did, those matches were extremely popular with our crowds. I think "Ace" is our best chance at bringing the asshole-ishness out of our young players, both men and women."

Although he never played for his college tennis team nor was he ever a touring tennis pro, Maccioli has over 50 years of tennis playing experience, including sanctioned and non-sanctioned individual, team, and USTA league events. More importantly, he has been threatened with suspension several times by USTA Team tennis officials for dropping f-bombs during USTA events in which he was a competitor.

Adams added, "We were all assuming that we would ask John (McEnroe) or Jimmy (Connors) to accept the new position, but, we all kept coming back to Frank. I think he is going to put tennis back on the map in this country and the world."

Even President Donald Trump chipped in saying, "Ace is going to make tennis great again! If nothing else, he will be vying for my title as the biggest asshole in the world!"

When asked for a comment, Mr. Maccioli said that although he has been a retired old-fart for almost 11 years, he looks forward to his new job. "I hope that soon we will have at least 3 or 4 players, possibly more, who will be dropping f-bombs, cussing, swearing, and threatening to punch out their opponents within the next 2 years, hopefully sooner. All it takes is passion and dedication to this great sport of a lifetime. I'm happy and humbled that the USTA, ATP, and WTA have selected me for this new position and will do my darnedest, excuse me, my damnedest, to justify their decision."

Responding to a question as to whether he was the right choice and if the tennis world really needs a Player Personality Director that encourages bad behaviour on the court, Maccioli tersely responded, "You bet your sweet ass I am! Fuck'em if they can't take a joke! Besides, I've got a hot young wife to take care of!"

California proceeds on climate change and pollution control without Trump, Pruitt, and EPA

I live in California. I'm glad to live in a state that doesn't fall for the bullshit about climate change that is constantly dropping out of the asses (mouths) of Scott Pruitt's and President* Trump's mouths every day.

Here are some recent examples of California going forward to protect us, our children, and our grandchildren:


California draws a line in the sand for Trump, Pruitt, and the new EPA

photo credit, St. Germaine / Marlene Swetishoff/Tsu-tana, The Rainbow Scribe

Why Scott Pruitt must never become the leader of the EPA

I have over 30 years of experience as an environmental professional.

I went to grad school to get a Master's degree in pollution control in part because of things that I saw at work every day that weren't regulated sufficiently at the time (early 1970s), such as: my car covered with soot from a nearby specialty steel company, a yellow river flowing by the parking lot fouled with acid coal mine drainage - I even saw guys from our research department dumping beakers of waste chemicals into storm water drains that emptied right into that river.

In my career I have worked to ensure environmental compliance, as a regulator, as a consultant, and as an environmental specialist for a major oil company.

I will be the first to agree that there is red tape that can be changed to facilitate development, but, those changes can be made without harming the environment, without removing protections already in place, and without preventing new ones from being developed.

As shown in this video put together by Bill Moyers, Scott Pruitt would be, without a doubt, the absolute worst pick to lead EPA. THE WORST!



During my career, I've sat in on meetings at Chevron, the Western States Petroleum Association, and other industry groups, and I can confirm from experience that there are LOTS of people that think just like Pruitt and don't give a damn about the environment.

I was treated as a pariah at Chevron because guys like that would get pissed off at me when I told them they needed a permit before they could build something.

Right before I quit and told my boss to go fuck himself, he told me that he was tired of hearing from his bosses that I was telling people that they needed permits every time they asked me about a new project.

Well, DUH!!! I didn't write the damn rules and that's what my job description said I was supposed to do. That was precisely why I got hired - to make damn sure that they complied with the law.

Pruitt is exactly like the guys who didn't want to play by the rules. His solution appears to be to get rid of them.

And we all, including our grandchildren, will suffer from it.